James River Group (NASDAQ:JRVR) Raised to “Buy” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of James River Group (NASDAQ:JRVR) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report released on Friday morning.

Separately, Barclays lowered their target price on shares of James River Group from $18.00 to $17.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 9th.

James River Group Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of James River Group stock opened at $14.82 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $16.32 and its 200-day moving average price is $18.82. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. James River Group has a 52-week low of $13.87 and a 52-week high of $26.60. The company has a market cap of $557.53 million, a P/E ratio of 15.94 and a beta of 0.39.

James River Group (NASDAQ:JRVR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 7th. The insurance provider reported $0.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.04. James River Group had a net margin of 4.57% and a return on equity of 14.65%. The firm had revenue of $238.44 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $204.35 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.52 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 29.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that James River Group will post 2.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

James River Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.05 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 8th. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.35%. James River Group’s payout ratio is currently 21.51%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On James River Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in shares of James River Group by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 13,924 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $291,000 after buying an additional 548 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank lifted its position in James River Group by 1.0% during the second quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 81,699 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,492,000 after purchasing an additional 800 shares during the period. Yousif Capital Management LLC lifted its position in James River Group by 3.0% during the first quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 34,965 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $865,000 after purchasing an additional 1,027 shares during the period. Credit Suisse AG lifted its position in James River Group by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Credit Suisse AG now owns 50,464 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,055,000 after purchasing an additional 1,049 shares during the period. Finally, Point72 Hong Kong Ltd lifted its position in James River Group by 218.7% during the second quarter. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd now owns 1,654 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 1,135 shares during the period. 94.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About James River Group

James River Group Holdings, Ltd., through its subsidiaries, provides specialty insurance and reinsurance services in the United States. It operates through Excess and Surplus Lines, Specialty Admitted Insurance, and Casualty Reinsurance segments. The Excess and Surplus Lines segment underwrites liability and property insurance in all states and the District of Columbia.